Holofernes

Holofernes (died 650 BC) was an Assyrian general during the reign of King Ashurbanipal. In 650 BC, he was dispatched to take revenge on the Levantine nations who refused to assist Ashurbanipal during his war with the Medes, only to be beheaded by the Jewish woman Judith during his siege of Bethulia.

Biography
Holofernes was the general in command of Ashurbanipal's armies and was second only to the king in power over the Neo-Assyrian Empire. In 650 BC, Ashurbanipal gave Holofernes command of 120,000 infantry and 12,000 mounted archers and sent him to subdue the rebellious Assyrian vassal states in Asia Minor, the Levant, and Egypt after they refused to support his campaign against the Medes. Holofernes advanced into the hill country with his entire army, his infantry, cavalry, and chariots, and he totally destroyed the countries of Libya and Lydia, then plundered all the people of Rassis and the Ishmaelites who lived on the edge of the desert, south of the land of the Chelleans.

Holofernes then crossed the Euphrates River and marched through the land of Mesopotamia, completely destroying all the walled towns along the Abron River as far as the sea. He seized the territory of Cilicia, killing everyone who resisted him, and went as far as the southern borders of the land of Japheth, near Arabia. He surrounded the Midianites, burned down their tents, and slaughtered their sheep. Holofernes proceeded to go down into the plains around Damascus during the wheat harvest, burned all the fields, slaughtered the flocks and herds, looted the towns, devastated the entire countryside, and killed all the young men. Panic seized all the people who lived along the Mediterranean Sea, and they shook with fear. Everyone in the towns of Tyre, Sidon, Sur, Ocina, Jamnia, Ashdod, and Ashkelon was terrified.

After a Phoenician peace delegation had brought a message of surrender, Holofernes led Nebuchadnezzar's army down to the Mediterranean coast. He stationed guards in all the walled towns and selected certain local men in each of the towns as reserve troops. The people in the towns and in the surrounding countryside welcomed Holofernes by wearing wreaths of flowers and dancing to the beat of drums. However, Holofernes destroyed all their places of worship and cut down their sacred trees. He had been ordered to destroy all the gods of the land so that all the nations and tribes would worship only Nebuchadnezzar and pray to him as a god. Then Holofernes passed through Jezreel Valley near Dothan, which faced the main ridge of the mountains of Judea, and set up camp between Geba and Scythopolis. He stayed there for a month in order to get supplies for his army. The Judeans responded by fortifying the hilltops around Kona, Beth Horon, Belmain, Jericho, Choba, and Aesora, and the Salem Valley, and by occupying the mountain passes near Bethulia and Betomesthaim, which faced Jezreel Valley near Dothan. Holofernes questioned the Ammonite mercenary leader Achior why the Israelites were preparing to resist, and Achior told him the history of the Jews, advising him to leave them alone if they were faithful, as God would be on their side. A furious Holofernes and his generals mocked Achior for suggesting that the Jews could win, and they delivered him to the Israelites, who surprisingly praised him for standing up to Holofernes' arrogance.

Siege and death
Holofernes proceeded to besiege Bethulia, cutting off its water supply and encamping outside of the city. After 34 days, the city ran out of water, and the magistrates agreed to surrender if no help arrived. One night, a Jewish woman, Judith, was escorted into the camp by 100 soldiers after she claimed that she could help Holofernes enter the city without any losses. She was warmly welcomed due to her beauty and her fake story about seeking to betray Judah, and she stayed as a guest in Holofernes' tent for four days. On the last day, Holofernes sought to get her drunk so that he could rape her, but he drank exceedingly and fell asleep. Judith used his own sword to behead him, hacking at his head twice before taking his head and giving it to her servant, who placed it in Judith's food bag and helped her bring it back to Bethulia. The Israelites mounted his head on a parapet, demoralizing the Assyrians, who were routed after a Judean counterattack.